Undergarment



H. SCHOEBEL Feb. 11, 1936.

UNDERGARMENT Filed Feb. 9, 1935 2 Sheets- Sheet l mm m WITNESS 2Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR v J-MWS 67/015851;

H. SCHOEBEL Feb. 11, 1936.

UNDERGARMENT Filed Feb. 9, 1935 overlie the abdominal region whenPatented Feb. 11, 1936 UNDERGARMEN T Henry Schoebel, Hem

pstead Gardens, Long Island, N. Y., assignor to Model Brassiere (30.,Inc., Brooklyn, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application February 9,1935, Serial No. 5,711

3 Claims.

The invention relates to an article of apparel constituting anundergarment. Such undergarment may take the form of a girdle or acombination garment, which latter is a unitary garment including abrassiere portion and a girdle. The invention consists in providing anadjunct for an undergarment of any usual type adapted'to encircle thetorso and more particularly that portion of such garment which overliesthe abdominal region of the torso.

An object of the invention is to provide in such garment an elongatedplate of a material of limited flexibility but of sufiicient rigidity tomaintain substantially its original shape and contour, such as a plateof steel which is of such configuration that in the position thereof inwhich it is secured to the undergarment, the plate overlies thehypogastric region of thebody of the wearer of the garment so as tofollow the anatomical contour of such abdominal region and be effectiveto control pressure against the body by the distribution of the flesh insuch manner that the flesh is primarily lifted by the plate instead ofbeing merely pressed inwardly thereby.

A more particular object of the invention is to provide a substantiallyrigid insert in an undergarment, in the portion thereof adapted to thegarment is worn, for the purpose of reducing the waistline by theeffective control of the flesh in such abdominal region through adistribution of the flesh in the immediate vicinity of the position ofthe insert, uniformly throughout such portion of the body.

A still further object of the invention is to provide such an insert ofa configuration which will be most eifective to attain the primaryobject, i. e., the lifting of the flesh which the insert is adapted tooverlie without appreciable pressure thereof inwardly and to incorporatein such insert features which make it particularly efiective in roundingthe portions of the abdomen immediately-adjacent the portion thereofwhich the insert is adapted to overlie when the garment is worn and toovercome the tendency of the flesh to mass on either side of the portionof the abdomen which the insert overlies. These two latter featuresconsist in providing the plate with a concaved upper extremity and withinwardly curving side portions so that the insert as a whole constitutesa cup or receptacle within which is maintained the fleshly portion ofthe abdominal region which the plate is designed to overlie when thegarment is worn.

In accordance with the invention the metal plate or insert is made asnarrow as possible,

the width thereof being governed by the extent or the fleshy area whichit is desired to control. The particular width of the metal insert forany particular undergarment is thus governed by the de- I gree ofcorrection from the central point of control desired to be attained andmay most easily be determined by simple experiment by trying on agarment. A narrower insert than that'necessary for absolutely correctivecontrol of presbythe particular corrective measure to be taken wouldhave no further efiect than that obtained by the approximate width ofthe insert deemed desirable by trial.

A specific embodiment of my invention is illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, the invention being shown as applied to a ladies undergarmentof the type known in the art as a girdle, the drawings showing thespecific embodiment by way of illustration rather than by way oflimitation. In such drawings Fig. 1 is a front View of a girdle with mynovel insert applied thereto;,Fig. 2 is a section on the line 2, 2 ofFig. 1; Fig. 3 shows the girdle with my 'novel'insert therein inposition upon the body; Fig. 4 is a section on the line 4, 4 of Fig. 2showing the front section of the girdle in rear elevation; Fig. 5 is an.elevation of my novel insert; Fig. 6 is a side view of such insert; andFig. 7 is a top view of the insert.

Referring more which similar reference characters identify similar partsin the several views, the girdle embodying my invention preferablyconsists of a front section In and a rear section I I, these twdsections being joined at one side of the garment throughoutsubstantially one-half their length, the upper halves of the edges ofthe sections being provided, as is customary in the art, with fastenerelements It.

The front section II) of the garment is constructed of any suitablematerial, for instance, silk brocade, and may include devices such asthe elastic insert l3, adapting this section to particularly performconforming functions in enclosing the figure of the wearer. The sectionIn may be also provided with hose supporters ll of conventional form.

The rear section of the girdle may be made entirely of an elasticmaterial as illustrated in Fig. 1 or may be substantially of the formand mateparticularly to the drawings in .strip is to prevent plate so asto increase rial shown as constituting the front section If].Conventional hose supporters l5, l5 may depend from the rear section ofthe girdle.

The particular portion of the undergarment to which my invention relatesis the upper portion of the front section l5 which, when the garment isworn, overlies the abdominal region of the body of the wearer and, moreparticularly, the hypogastric portion of such abdominal region.

Such portion of the undergarment is constituted, as shown in Fig. 2, ofthe fabric layer comprising the upper portion of the girdle section H.)

and a separate section it depending from the upper edge of the girdleproper. Such separate section 16 consists of a strip of lining I1 and asecond strip of lining l8, between which strips is positioned anelongated metal plate I9. In the illustrated embodimenubetween the platel9 and the inner lining strip ll is positioned a flannel strip 26. Thepurpose of providing this flannel the, hard surface of the metal platefrom bearing against the body of the wearer through the lining ll, andaffording the flannel a cushioning for such metal plate.

While in the specific embodimentillustrated I have shown a flannel stripas applied only to one side of the elongated metal plate, i. e.

tremity of the plate, a particularly effective cushioning of the plateis obtained. Making the flannel strips of slightly larger area than thatof the -metal insert may also may shrink to some extent,

such flannel strips, is retained even "peated laundering of the Asillustrated more particularly in Fig. 4, the

be of advantage in that when the garment is laundered, the flannel stripbut will still be of larger area than the insert, so that the fullcushioning effect of the flannel strip, by having the peripheral edgesof the metal insert bear against after regarment.

metallic strip constituting the insert I9 is secured within and betweenthe linings l1 and It by a line of stitching 2! following closely theperiphery of the metallic insert IS.

The specific configuration of the metal insert I9 is shown in Figs. 5 to'7. Itwill be seen from such figures that the metallic insert is curvedthroughout its width near its upper end, as shown at 22, the edges ofthe plate as at 23, 23 being curved to a greater extent than is the bodyportion of the plate.

The portion of the plate contiguous its lower extremity is curvedinwardly, as shown at 24, the curvature of such portion of the platebeing such that the plate in its position within the garment and whenthe garment is worn, follows the contour of the body of the wearer atthe' lower portion of the abdominal region.

It will thus be seen that the metallic insert is characterized by threeseparate features of curvature. The most important of these features isthe curvature of the bottom portion of the plate, as it is thisparticular configuration of the insert which .makes possible theattainment of the primary corrective results sought by my novelconstruction.

' lingpressure against the fitting dresses as the wearer When a garment,in which my inventive structure has been incorporated,.is worn, thiscurved lower portion of the metallic insert is positionedso as tooverlie the lower portion of thehypogastric region where there isusually an abnormal accumulation of flesh, the curvature of the platebeing effective to lift, by means of the tilted extremity of such plate,the 'fiesh without appreciable pressure thereof inwardly. Thus, a meansof controlling the pressure against the' body,- which would result bythe application of a flat plate against this portion of the body, issupplied without any pressure whatsoever against the body, the controlbeing attained by lifting the'fieshy portion of the body rather thanpressing the same inwardly.

The second feature of my novel insert, namely that of the curvature ofthe upper portion thereof, prevents undue'pressure of the sides of theplate against the body, the curvature being substantially identical withthe curvature of the body of the wearer in the abdominal region whichthe upper portion of the plate is designed to overlie when the garmentis worn.

The curvature of the edges of the insert is designed to overcome themassmg of the flesh on each side of the plate. The curved edges of theinsert prevent an abrupt elevation of flesh on 7 each side of the insertand are effective to cause such a gradual rising of the flesh at thepor- H tions of the abdomen adjacent theposition of'the insert that anatural contour and rounding of the abdominal fiesh'conforming to thecurvature of the body, upon each side of the insert, is secured. Thiscurvature of the edges of the insert completes, with the curvatureof theupper portion of the plate and the curvature at the bottom extremitythereof, the cup or receptacle within which the abdominal region whichthe plate is adapted to overlie, is confined.

The advantages of my metallic insert, when applied to an undergarment ofthe type described, will be readily apparent to those skilled in theart,'not only as a corrective measure for controlbody of the wearer oithe garment, but as a means of conforming the necessity of wearing anundergarment of the girdle or combination type with present trends offashion. It is a well recognized fact that modern fashion dictates atight and closely fitting dress. The adoption of my novel constructionwill make possible the designing of even closer whose body is encircledby a garment to which my novel metallic insert has been applied, willout any bodily movement without disarrangement of any portion of thedress, particularly in the abdominal region. In other words, the wearerof my novel undergarment is able to assume any posture without fear ofpresenting an unsightly appearance, particularly when wearing aclosefitting dress.

The preferred material of which my novel insert is to be made is steel,preferably a steel that will resist corrosion, or material which hasbeen plated to render it .rustproof. I have found that the type known asSwedish steel is partieu larly suitable as it has a limited amount offlexibility but sufficient rigidity to maintain substantially itsoriginal shape'and contour. Obviously, any suitable material, forinstance, celluloid, bone, ivory, or composition material such as aphenolic condensation product may be used in manufacbe enabled to carryI claim:

1. An undergarment having an elongated plate of a material of limitedflexibility but of sufiicient rigidity to maintain substantially itsoriginal shape and contour, said plate being of substantial width andbeing secured to the undergarment in a portion thereof overlying thehypogastric region of the body of the wearer, said plate having a curvedportion contiguous its lower extremity, the curvature of said portionbeing inward and substantially identical with the contour of the part ofthe body against which it rests, said plate having the upper portionthereof slightly concaved on its inner surface.

2. An undergarment having an elongated plate of substantial width and ofa material of limited flexibility but of sufficient rigidity to maintainsubstantially its original shape and contour, said plate being securedto the undergarment in a portion thereof overlying the hypogastricregion of the body of the wearer, said plate having a curved portioncontiguous its lower extremity, the curvature of said portion beinginward and substantially identical with the contour of the part of thebody against which it rests, the side edges of said plate being curvedinwardly to conform to the curvature of the body and to lend rigidity tothe plate.

3. An undergarment having an elongated plate of substantial width and ofa material of limited flexibility but of sufficient rigidity to maintainsubstantially its original shape and contour, said plate being securedto the undergarment in a portion thereof overlying the hypogastricregion of the body of the wearer, said plate having a curved portioncontiguous its lower extremity, the curvature of said portion beinginward and substantially identical with the contour of the part of thebody against which it rests, said plate having the upper portion thereofslightly concaved on its inner surface, the side edges of said platebeing curved inwardly, the three features of ourvature of said platecooperating to constitute said plate a natural receptacle within whichthe abdominal region, which the plate overlies when the garment is worn,is confined.

HENRY SCHOEBEL.

